Electrostatic precipitation is known for removing suspended particulate matters from a gas (aerosol) flow for gas cleaning, air pollution control, oil/air separation, etc. The fundamental design of electrostatic precipitators has remained relatively unchanged since early applications of electrostatic precipitation in the nineteenth century. In its simplest form for a single stage precipitator, a high DC voltage is applied to a central electrode positioned in a grounded casing in order to cause a corona discharge to develop between the central electrode and the conductive interior surface of the casing. As the gas containing suspended particles flows between the electrode and the conductive interior surface of the casing, the particles are electrically charged by the corona ions. The charged particles are then precipitated electrostatically by the electric field onto the conductive interior surface of the casing where the charged particles neutralize. This normally involves very high voltages to achieve high electric field strengths, which causes a safety issue of arcing. This may be problematic for some applications where the fluids or gas/particle mixture may be ignited by a spark, such as in a fuel system or oil system of a gas turbine engine.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved electrostatic precipitator.